Since 1972, the largest producer of ranch dressing — Hidden Valley — has been inexplicably owned by Clorox, which I guess sees some benefit in hawking food products that could stain clothes? Hidden Valley sold $1.3 billion worth of ranch in the U.S. last year, and it’s the flagship in Clorox’s play to compete in the condiment aisle, where it also sells $1.26 billion in bottled ketchup and $969.9 million in barbecue sauce. The new goal for Hidden Valley: get Americans to start consuming ranch dressing at meals that otherwise do not usually involve ranch dressing whatsoever, specifically breakfast, but also on pizza, fries, nachos and pretzels. Listen, I don’t want to yuck any yums, and as a proud American taxpayer I obviously use ranch dressing, but ranch dressing on eggs is an abomination and fiendish attempts to make that mainstream behavior will make me go full-on Footloose on this trend.
Natasha Khan, The Wall Street Journal
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